Life After Prophesy
by VanG Ziggy ZA
Summary: Now that the Skeksis are gone and the Crystal of Truth has been restorned, Jen begins to wonder what else there is for him to do in this new world.


Ziggy's Corner: Okay, The Dark Crystal has always been one of my favorite stories, so of course I had to write a fiction about it. In fact, this is just one of two stories I have in mind. I hope that you enjoy them both.

LIFE AFTER PROPHESY

Jen walked through the newly reformed Castle of Light, shielding his eyes from the powerful rays that it radiated. The Gelfling seemed to frown as he walked through the corridors, looking at each of the fabulous and glorious rooms, each one illuminating with knowledge and goodness.

It had been only four months since the Skeksis had been vanquished, reunited with their Ur-ru selves. How he had known that they could heal Kira, after the Crystal had been saved, he would never know, but after the leader of the Urskeks had told him to hold her to him, he could not deny the truth behind his words.

And yet, with that truth came great responsibility. The leader had told them that they left them the Crystal of truth, and told Jen and Kira to make their world in its light. But what did that mean?

After a long time of pacing around the castle, the Gelfling returned to the crystal chamber and looked up questioningly at the large white stone floating over the pit of fire, as if he expected it to answer any question he could throw at it. _Nothing's ever **that** simple._

After an hour of simply looking at it, Jen felt a ravenous growl from his innards, and he sighed. The young hero turned on his heels and headed for the lake that surrounded the Castle of Light. With a flick of his wrist, he threw the long pole into the water and waited for a bite. Normally the Gelfling would be opposed to eating meat, but that didn't mean he would never do it, and with the lake reappearing after a thousand years absence, and an abundance of fish within it, it was a perfect place to find food.

Twenty minutes went by, and then the twenty year old felt a powerful tug on the other end of the line. With a determined glint in his eye the Gelfling pulled back and began to yank the fishing line out of the water. It was as if it was as determined not to be caught, as much as he wanted to catch it. "Oh come on, all ready," he hissed after a five minute struggle. With the last ounce of strength, he slipped backward and heard the cord snap. Jen screeched as he fell back ward, and the fish leapt up into the air, and in the blink of an eye, was gone.

Jen shot back to his legs and sighed, just before hearing a very familiar giggle from behind him. The male Gelfling sighed and pulled himself to his feet, as he turned and looked at the blonde Gelfling who was holding a little brown hair ball with eyes and teeth.

"Very funny," he said as he walked up to her, patting Fizzgig on the head. Jen stroked her blonde hair and looked deeply into her eyes. "I'd like to see you try better though." Once the words slipped from his mouth, he blushed and looked down to his feet. Not only did Kira have an even greater aversion to eating animals, than he did, but he knew that if she really wanted to catch a fish, all she had to do was call out, and the animal would probably leap right into her lap.

"I already did," she said with another giggle. She gently took his hand and lead him into a room that they had designated as their dining hall, the same hall that the Skeksis had used to gorge themselves of flesh, leaving only rotten bits of meat for their slaves – if the slaves were lucky.

The hall was now brightly colored, like the rest of the castle, with shimmering hues of blue and silver everywhere. There were now hundreds of tables and chairs, enough for everyone of the land of Mithra to attend and eat. There had been only one victory banquet, right after the Skeksis had been defeated, but now the hall was once again quiet.

Kira walked over to one of the tables and motioned for Jen to follow her. He did and saw two large bowls of salad, followed by a huge bowl of steaming soup, and a plate of Podling Bread, freshly made. "My mother made them for us," she said with a smile. "She thought we might be hungry for food from home."

Jen sat and took a bite from a piece of bread and chuckled to himself. "Well not food exactly from my home, but it's still good," he sighed with contentment. The bread was softer than a pillow, and practically melted in his mouth as he chewed it.

"You're still wondering what to do about Mithra and the crystal, aren't you?" she asked, after she swallowed a piece of salad. He turned his head down and sighed, with a nod of his head. "Jen, I thought we've talked about this before, it won't do either of us any good to try and guess where the future will take us."

"But what are we supposed to do now?" he asked, glaring at his bowl of soup. "I mean, from what I found in the archives in the castle about any other prophesy about Gelflings, or what happens after the crystal is healed."

"That's probably because there aren't any, then," she said, putting down a bowl of water for Fizzgig to gulp down. "Jen we really shouldn't worry about the future."

"Kira, I don't know anything about running a tribe, let alone a whole planet!"

"There's nothing that says we have to rule anything," she said, finishing her salad and moving on to her soup. Before he could open his mouth she raised a finger, "Yes I know the other people of the land haven't tried to do anything for themselves, but within time, they will, I know it." She stood up and sighed. "The crystal was entrusted to us, but it's for everyone."

Jen frowned and leaned back in his chair. The air around him seemed to cool as he sat, and he closed his eyes. _To think I was confused before healing the Crystal!_ "It's for everyone, yes, but at the moment, no one wants to use it," he moaned. "They all fear it, and I'm afraid that if they rely on us too much, they may end up fearing us as much as they feared the Skeksis."

"Power corrupts," she said softly, stroking a whimpering Fizzgig.

"And absolute power corrupts absolutely," he added with a nod. The Urskeks had all the best intentions for the land, and the Crystal, but in the end, allowed that power to corrupt and twist them. "How will stop ourselves from ending up like them?" he asked her, bringing up his thoughts of the former lords of the Crystal.

"We have each other, and for right now, that should be enough," she snapped, very uncharacteristically for her. She sighed and walked to him, stroking his cheek. "My darling, if you're this worked up about the Crystal, how ever are you going to deal with a baby?"

Jen felt his eyes leap out of their sockets, his mouth dropped, and his heart raced an extra thirty beats per second. "A, a ba-baby!" His eyes scanned her body and he blinked for a moment. Being the only two Gelflings left on their world, it was only obvious that they would mate one day, but even though they had wed just a month in a half ago, officiated by Kira's uncle, the thought of a child had never crossed his mind.

Kira smiled and blushed slightly. With all the stress he was facing now, the last thing she wanted to do to her husband was give him a stroke. "It was a joke," she said quietly.

"Kira, that wasn't funny," he snapped. He slumped down to his chair and sighed. He looked up and felt a cool flush run down his veins as she looked away. "I'm sorry," he said, fidgeting with a second bowl of salad. "I shouldn't have acted that way, but I'm just so confused right now." He sighed and moved the bowl back across the table.

"Yes darling, I am too," she said, walking over and sitting next to him. She brushed aside his black hair and picked up his chin, giving him a kiss on his firm lips. "But we can't let confusion and fear separate us. If we do that, then we really aren't any different than the Skeksis."

"You're right," he sighed. He blinked a few more times and then looked into her deep brown eyes. He smiled at the gentle flow of the lights in them, the kindness and purity of the energy inside them could brighten the largest of rooms filled to the brim with pessimists. He stood up and pulled his animal skin cloth around him, giving her a swift kiss on her lips. "Maybe I should just relax and go to the archive room and scroll for some other kind of manuscripts. I read that the Gelflings weren't the only species persecuted under the Skeksis reign. Maybe there are other survivors around Mithra that aren't aware that they're gone." He stroked his chin and blinked, "Then maybe I'll look at the maps and see just how much of the land that needs to be surveyed."

"Don't over do it," she said, kissing his cheek. She helped him pick the bowls, placed the food back in boxes to keep them fresh, and went her own way, paper in hand to explore more of the Castle.

Later that night, as they held us other in bed, Jen looked up at the window in the roof, at the countless stars. Both the surveying and the history scrolls had only proved half successful. Jen had known about most of the land that he had seen, thus far, and Kira knew most of the species he had found, far more than he knew even existed in Mithra. Still, there was so much pressure to know and comprehend. It nearly gave him a headache.

_You're trying too hard to be something you don't need to be yet, Gelfling._ Jen shot up, nearly knocking over both Kira and Fizzgig off of their bed. He blinked and looked around. That almost sounded like his master, who had died months ago, before the Ur-ru and the Skeksis had merged. His breathing became labored as he scanned the darkness, and he stroked his hair. The room was silent, and calm, but Jen was positive that he had heard his master speak.

Quickly, and as quietly as possible, Jen slipped out of bed and tiptoed out of the room. It was a good think Kira was such a heavy sleeper. As he heard high pitched yips he glowered at the floor and sighed. It was too bad that he couldn't say the same thing about Fizzgig.

"Okay boy," he said, waving his hands to stop the hair ball from crying too much, "you can come with me. I just need a swim in the lake to cool my mind." He watched the lion dog screech with fear, and zoom under the bed. Jen smiled, remembering how many times Kira and he had to chase Fizz all over the castle, just for one bath. One time it took them all day long. "Thought that might work," he said with a chuckle. "Keep an eye on her for me Fizz."

_Maybe Kira and I are supposed to just sit back and relax._ He thought, drying himself off after he got out of the lake. _I could take her back to the Mystic Valley or we could live with her mother and the Podlings._ He looked up into the every darkening sky and sighed. "Maybe our role for this world is done and over with."

_I didn't say that Gelfling._ Jen shot up and looked around into vast emptiness. _You and your wife's role is going to grow, but first you must accept it._

"Master, where are you?" he cried looking up into the Heavens. There was nothing, no appearance, no voice. _What is going on? Master never talked to me after he died before. Why now? And what is it that we have to accept? What are we supposed to do?_

_Look down, Gelfling._ Jen blinked and looked down into the water, gazing at first at his own reflection, and then that of his master. He gasped and shook his head.

_How can this be?_

"When people die, they just don't go away forever," Kira's voice said softly, as she knelt down besides him. He doubted that she could see him master in the water, the way she could when they dreamfasted, but he had no doubt that she knew what was happening. In the last couple of weeks he had consistently told her how very much he wished his best friend, his teacher, his mentor, and his "father" was still alive. "He lives within you," she said with a tender smile.

"I suppose so," he said, thoughtfully.

_Gelfling, you long for a purpose, and fate has agreed to give you one past the prophesy. Aughra has a book in her possession that might be of aid to you. Travel to her mountain house, and ask for it._

"Oh great," he sighed.

"What is it?" she looked into his brown eyes and frowned.

"Master said that I have to go to Aughra, that she has a book that might answer a lot of my questions." He lowered his head and looked up at her. "I know it might be hard to believe, but," he continued before she placed a finger on his lips.

"I believe in you," she said lovingly. "If you need to see Aughra, then go see her."

"You don't mind?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not if it's important to you," she said with a smile. She stood back to her feet, and took his hand. "But promise me that you won't leave until tomorrow." She smiled and nodded back to the Castle.

Jen chuckled and groaned lightly. "All right, I suppose I'm going to need my rest before I leave." The two of them turned and headed back to the castle, spending what time night had left for them, until the first of the three suns rose to the sky.


End file.
